How to make more money in your small business

Here’s six common reasons small business owners like you aren’t making enough cash and what to do about it.

1. Undercharging

If you’re not making enough in your business, the quickest way to remedy that is putting up your prices. Start by raising your prices for existing customers; if people enjoy working with you, most will be happy to pay more (plus they won’t want the hassle of trying to find a new ‘you’). Just make sure you give them plenty of notice, so if they have any concerns they have plenty of time to raise them with you.

2. Underpromotion

If you’re doing business online, the industry standard for conversions – and by that I mean converting leads into sales – is 1-2%.

That means for every 100 people you offer your products/services to, 98 are likely to say ‘no.’ Which means sending out more emails, making more social media posts and having more sales conversations than you feel comfortable with.

3. Sales shame

So many business owners tell me that they don’t want to promote their products because they’re worried they’ll appear pushy.

But as a business owner remember you’re not selling a product or service…you’re solving a problem for your customers.

Take my 2018 media diary as an example. My diary lists hundreds of awareness days and special days, so it helps business owners and bloggers who are struggling to think of ideas for their blog, email marketing or social media content. For those who are finding it hard to stay consistent, it helps them get organised and plan ahead – so it’s clearly solving problems for customers.

If you have a high-end or luxury product/service you may feel like you’re not solving a problem. You are.

People have all sorts of reasons for buying things. Even if they seem frivolous to you, it doesn’t mean you aren’t solving a problem.

I spent £160 on a dress I wore to speak at the Youpreneur Summit last year. Did I need to spend that much? Of course not. But I wanted to feel good when I was up on that stage – and that’s how that dress made me feel – so it definitely solved a problem for me.

4. No audience

I speak to so many business owners who expect to make hundreds of sales online – without an email list or a social media following. If you’re doing business online, remember the industry standard for conversions – and by that I mean converting leads into sales – is around 1-2% – which should give you an idea of the numbers.

To use my 2018 Media Diary as an example again – to make £50k in revenue, I’d need to sell 1,667 diaries and have 166,700 on my email list (based on a 1% conversion rate). To make £100k in revenue, I’d need to sell 3,334 diaries and have 333, 400 on my email list (based on the same 1% conversion rate).

My 2018 diaries have actually converted really well at 5-7% (double the conversion rate for 2017) but if you’re just starting out, your conversions are likely to be lower – which means building your audience – and your email list – should be your priority.

Many business owners assume it’s easier to sell lower priced products/services to lots of people. Unless you have a large audience it’s actually easier to sell high ticket items to small number of people.

To do that, you need to be prepared to do some high-touch sales – which means personal calls and emails to prospective customers – and even your family and friends.

5. Products/services problem

If you’re not making enough sales, there’s a good chance you’re not selling the right products/services to the right people.

Let’s say you’re trying to sell a high-end coaching programme but aren’t getting much interest. This may be nothing to do with the quality of your product/service – it could simply mean you haven’t yet got enough of the right kind of prospects in your audience.

You have two choices: focus on attracting more high-end customers or create a new product/services that serves the prospective customers you DO have in your audience.

The 2018 Media Diary helps my audience with the problem of content planning

6. Few income streams

I have at least nine income streams in my business. This means that if I lose some customers – or something isn’t working out the way I planned – it’s not a disaster. I can focus on creating additional revenue from my other income streams (or create new ones) and work on attracting more of the kind of people who are interested in the product/service that I’m creating.

If you’re focused on growing your business in 2018 and want to make more money this year, then we need to talk about you being a part of the Soulful PR Talent Programme. You can find out more about it here and book in your discovery call with me.